Police in the northern Vietnamese province of Cao Bang have arrested a man for slashing to death four people after being unable to rape one of the victims.

The provincial Department of Police confirmed on Monday they had apprehended Ly Dinh Khanh, 31, who resides in Na Phac Village, Quang Trong Commune, for murder.

Initial information showed that Khanh arrived at the house of Trieu Thi Ph., who lived in the same neighborhood as his, on Sunday night and attempted to sexually assault her.

Ph. managed to escape and ran to the home of her younger sister-in-law, Trieu Thi Coi, which is about 100 meters away.

However, Khanh was able to chase Ph. down before slashing her to death with a knife in front of Coi’s house.

The house of Trieu Thi Ph. was burned down by the suspect. Photo: Tuoi Tre

As terrified Coi fled the scene, Khanh stormed into the house and murdered her six-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, along with Ly Thi Van, 86, who was Ph.’s mother-in-law.

The suspect then returned to Ph.’s house with the intention to kill her two children. However, the two kids had already run away.

Khanh decided to burn the house down before hiding himself.

Police officers arrested the man at around 2:45 am on Monday, following a two-hour effort.

According to some local news outlets, Khanh was sentenced to three years in prison in 2014 for rape.

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